FOREIGN MINISTERS VOW TO STRIVE SO
EVERYONE IN THE AMERICAS CAN BENEFIT FROM THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

Declaration of Santo Domingo Adopted

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic,
June 6, 2006 —The region’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs, who have
been meeting here for the thirty-sixth regular session of the General
Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), today adopted the
Declaration of Santo Domingo on the central theme of the meeting: “Good
Governance and Development in the Knowledge-based Society.” In the
document, adopted by acclamation, the foreign ministers affirmed that
“the development and equitable and universal access to the
knowledge-based society constitutes a challenge and an opportunity that
helps us to address the common social, economic, and political goals of
the countries of the Americas.”

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza said at the
end of the three days of deliberations that this General Assembly had
been “positive both for the region and for the Organization.” He stressed
the cooperative spirit that characterized the discussions at the regional
meeting, even in the case of bilateral differences that had been going on
for several months.

In closing the OAS forum, the Chair of the General
Assembly and Foreign Minister of the host country, Carlos Morales
Troncoso, said the member countries had shown a firm commitment to OAS
ideals and principles, “and the result has been a new impetus to our
agenda through declarations and resolutions.” He noted that the
Declaration of Santo Domingo lays out “an appropriate framework for
reaching our common aspiration of building a knowledge-based society.”

In the final declaration, the delegations of 34 OAS
member states called on the Secretary General – taking into account the
OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter – to promote the
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate
the participate of citizens in public life, thereby strengthening
democratic governance.

The foreign ministers called on the OAS General
Secretariat to integrate ICTs as a “cross-cutting tool” in designing
inter-American policies and programs related to governance and equitable,
sustainable development. They agreed to “promote the utilization of ICTs
for the follow-up, oversight and evaluation of public administration by
the citizenry, in order to achieve a transparent and efficient
government, and the strengthening of democracy.”

The region’s foreign ministers, who make up the
highest decision-making body of the OAS, expressed their commitment, in
the spirit of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, “to guarantee the
liberty of every person to enjoy freedom of expression, including access
to uncensored political debate and the free exchange of ideas through all
forms of mass media, including the Internet.”

In the same declaration, adopted late tonight, the
region’s leading diplomats reiterated the commitment made in June 2005 in
the Declaration of Florida to deliver the benefits of democracy and
advance prosperity, democratic values and security in the hemisphere,
adding that information technologies “can play a valuable role in this
regard.”

They called for the participation of the private
sector, civil society, regional and international institutions, including
financial institutions, to develop complementary strategies that promote
“universal access to the Internet for all the peoples of the Americas.”
They also expressed a “heightened commitment” to foster literacy, as well
as investment in science, technology, mathematics and engineering.

The ministers invited the OAS Permanent Council to
convene a specialized inter-American conference to exchange experiences
and best practices that might help the member states design or enhance
legislative, regulatory and administrative frameworks with respect to
ICTs, enabling them to better support advances in the expanding
knowledge-based society and to promote investment.

During its last plenary session, the General Assembly
also approved by acclamation the designation of Panama as the host
country of the 2007 General Assembly..